November 10, 2008 5:19 PM

The cases for and against Gary Smith

As the Rapids, by all accounts, prepare to announce Gary Smith as their next full-time coach on Tuesday afternoon, let's look at the arguments for and against hiring the man who turned around Fernando Clavijo's team but narrowly missed the MLS playoffs.

THE ARGUMENTS FOR SMITH
Smith improved the team, plain and simple. He took a team that was foundering at 6-10-3 and collected 17 points in 11 games to finish the season.

He raised the bar for the team's performance on the road. Clavijo's Rapids were 1-6-2 away from Dick's Sporting Goods Park in 2008; Smith's Rapids won three of their six road games and fought their way into a position to qualify for the playoffs. The Rapids won 2-1 against Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center to set up a winner-take-all match against Real Salt Lake.

Smith elevated the play on the field. In contrast to Clavijo, whose laissez-faire reactions after losses were always annoying to me, Smith's eyes are full of fire on the sideline. Smith is better at motivating his players, preparing them to give a complete effort on the field. Here's what Marcelo Balboa said about Smith during an Altitude telecast of the Oct. 19 game against Chivas: "He's had success. He's turned this team around. They're fighters. They're more organized. The players know their roles."

Smith got the most out of Conor Casey. Smith stuck with the Clavijo rotation of Casey, Tom McManus and Omar Cummings, but it was Casey who caught fire from the beginning. With Clavijo out of the country to tend to an ailing relative, Casey scored twice in a mid-August victory against Kansas City

Smith apparently has the support of much of the team. It's easy to wonder what's going on in the minds of Bouna Coundoul, Facundo Erpen and Christian Gomez, who were spectators for some (or much, or all) of the stretch run. But defender Mike Petke and others have been vocal in their support of Smith and their desire for him to be hired full time.

And, although potential assistant coach Steve Guppy and the Rochester Rhinos have had loose lips in the past few days, Smith seems to have adhered to the Rapids' wishes and kept quiet about the hiring. That's a good thing (and the front office must agree). Smith can keep a secret when he needs to.

THE ARGUMENT AGAINST SMITH
Yura Movsisyan, 90th minute, Oct. 25.

So where does all this leave us? Well, it looks pretty lopsided in the "arguments for" column, although that "argument against" hurts like a punch in the gut. The 1-1 tie that felt like a loss kept the Rapids out of the playoffs and let RSL retain the Rocky Mountain Cup.

But here's my real question about Smith: What happens to the roster? We've seen what he can do with Clavijo's players. What will he do when he has more control over his personnel?

If a new coach came to town, surely he would seek to make his mark on the roster. But what does Smith do with Bouna, Gomez and Erpen? Does he ask Pablo to stay? Or does he gut the team, like the outsider might.

In 2005, under Tom Hankinson, these players were some of the mainstays on the field: Jeff Cunningham, Peguero Jean-Philippe, Alain Nkong, Terry Cooke, Eric Denton, Kyle Beckerman, Pablo Mastroeni, Mike Petke, Ritchie Kotschau, Nat Borchers, Hunter Freeman and Joe Cannon.

By the end of 2007, all were gone but Cooke, Pablo and Petke.

That's the way it goes in professional soccer. Will Smith do the same? Only time will tell. But such turnover is not good for the team or the ticket holders. Just as we're getting to know players like Luchi Gonzales and Fabrice Noel and Freeman ... they're gone.

My hunch is that Smith, having become familiar with the skills of the 2008 Colorado Rapids, would retain more of the players who already are in uniform than an outsider would.

And that stability would become a plus for the franchise and the fans.

We had about one-third of the season to assess Smith's fitness as coach of the Rapids. With his team's performance in those 11 games and the possibility of greater stability among the coaches and players, Smith deserves a chance to coach this team.

Posted by George Tanner at 5:19 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack